Short Summary

The senior Chinese Armed Forced delegation which has been in France on a ten-day visit held talks with French Prime Minister Raymond Barre on Friday (23 September), and called for increased military co-operation between the two nations.

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MV: Other members of delegation, and French officials leaving Matignon
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Background: The senior Chinese Armed Forced delegation which has been in France on a ten-day visit held talks with French Prime Minister Raymond Barre on Friday (23 September), and called for increased military co-operation between the two nations. The delegation, the highest-ranking military team to visit a western nation since 1949, was in France on an arms-buying mission. Their stay was due to end on Sunday (September 25).

SYNOPSIS: The fifteen-member team, including nine generals, was led by General Yang Cheng-wu, who is close to Chinese Vice-Premier Teng Hsiao-ping. Apart from their talks with Mr. Barre, the Chinese delegation have also met other senior French officials including Defence Minister Yvon Bourges. Their host for much of the visit was the Chief of the French Armed Forces, General Guy Mary, who visited China last year and was taken to the site of the country's nuclear experiments. They've also inspected a wide range of French weapons, including the Mirage fighter-bomber and the Anglo-French Jaguar warplane. The Chinese are particularly interested in the prototype Mirage 2000-claimed to be more than a match for the Soviet Union's best fighter aircraft, the Mig 25 'Foxbat'.

The visiting delegation, which has asked France for an increase in exchanges of military men, has visited army, air force and naval bases during their stay. They also had on their schedule an inspection tour of an atomic missile regiment.